generosity. these ideas don't get old. >> merry christmas, merry christmas. >> watch a good christmas show. and it doesn't matter when it was made. and that's what makes the best of these christmas shows not only accessible across cultures, but across generations my favorite christmas movie is love actually miracle on 34th street. >> it's a wonderful life, i love watching it's a wonderful life, charlie brown's christmas, christmas vacation, home alone is by far my favorite christmas movie. >> this is really cliche. >> well, i mean, this is boring, but it's a wonderful life. >> of course, the alastair sim a christmas carol, charlie brown christmas elf, the family stone, love actually, the apartment, it's probably home alone, miracle on 34th street, and i still like to

>> it's wednesday, december 25th, christmas day. merry christmas to those who celebrate right now on a special edition of cnn this morning. i'm hoping for a secure borders. i'm hoping for economic change. >> donald trump meant what he said. he's going to do what he said. >> getting the message. the voters have spoken and will soon find out if donald trump and his team were listening. plus, making history the president elect's second inauguration will be unprecedented in more ways than one. and. >> santa's coming to town. santa. oh my god. >> i know him, i know him. >> holiday blockbusters, from traditional favorites to modern classics. which christmas movie are most americans turning on today? good morning everyone. merry

christmas to you and yours. i'm kasie hunt. it's wonderful to have you with us. we're going to have all of that and more that we just ran through ahead with our panel. but first, let's get a check of this morning's headlines. >> thanks, casey. i'm danny freeman in new york. merry christmas to all of our viewers out there. we start with breaking news out of central asia, where we know at least two dozen people have survived a christmas morning plane crash. this video on your screen was taken moments after the crash as rescuers raced to help those on board. now the azerbaijan airlines plane went down near the coastal city of aktau, kazakhstan. cnn's nadia bashir joins me now from london. nada. what more do we know about this crash? >> well, look, danny, the investigation is still ongoing into the details of what may have caused this crash. according to authorities, preliminary information at this stage suggests that the pilot may have been forced to attempt an emergency landing as a result of a bird strike. but again, we are still waiting to get more details around this crash and what may have caused it. we

have seen video emerging from eyewitnesses and those at the scene videos just moments before the crash. in fact, showing the plane encircling the airfield quite erratically before attempting that emergency landing, but indeed crashing. and then moments after showing the plane bursting into flames. and there is distressing footage showing members of passengers on board the plane emerging bloodied from the wreckage. and remarkably, as you mentioned, there have been survivors following this crash. at least 28 people, according to authorities, including two children, are said to have survived. they have been taken to hospital now for medical attention. there were, of course, emergency teams quickly at the scene attempting to extinguish the fire and provide support for those survivors emerging from the wreckage. but of course, dozens are also feared dead and we are still waiting to hear more from authorities with regards to the status of the remaining passengers on board the plane. there were, of course, 67 believed to be on board the plane in total. so still waiting to hear more details

around that. and of course, this will be a distressing time for family members, for relatives and loved ones. of those who were on board that plane, still waiting to hear more information. and we will of course be tracking that as we do get more details. danny. >> and again, the video just so scary and incredible that anyone was able to walk away from that alive. nadia bashir, thank you very much for that report. all right. now let's move over to live pictures at the vatican, where in just minutes on this christmas morning, you see right there, pope francis delivering his annual christmas blessing. thousands have gathered as the pope celebrates his 12th christmas as the head of the catholic church. cnn vatican correspondent christopher lam joins us now. christopher, i'm wondering what more can we expect to see this morning? >> well, danny, as you can see from the images the pope is giving his urbi et orbi address and blessing, which means to the city and to the world. it takes place each christmas day, and the pope is going to be, i

expect, addressing global conflicts to make appeals for peace, as he often does during these messages. you can see the vatican nativity scene set up in saint peter's square. the pope has been quite busy this christmas because, of course, it's a special celebration as the pope has launched the catholic church's jubilee year, a year dedicated to forgiveness and pilgrimage. he opened the proceedings last night by throwing open the doors of the saint peter's basilica's holy door, which is normally cemented shut. he did that last night, christmas eve, during a celebration. he opened the door, and after that, pilgrims processed in. it's customary for those people visiting the basilica during a holy year to go through those doors. they did so after the pope opened them last night. so expect the pope to this morning

be focusing on his big message to the world, which he wants to link into the jubilee year, which he is dedicated to hope. he wants this year to offer concrete signs of hope, whether it's richer countries forgiving the debts of poorer countries, or for prisoners being given amnesties and pardons. the pope wants this special celebration to have an impact across the globe. danny. >> christopher anderson king charles will also share his christmas message today, but he'll break tradition to some extent when he does. what can you share? >> yes, well, the king is going to be giving his christmas message from a chapel that's connected to the hospital. of course, the king has been, uh, battling cancer. cancer treatment this year. so the king is obviously trying to send a message by deciding to give his christmas day message from the fitzrovia chapel,

which is linked to the healthcare, the the healthcare industry. >> christopher lim, thank you so much for that report. appreciate it and merry christmas to you. >> merry christmas. >> all right. well technically it is a white christmas for the first time in 15 years in new york city. there is still some snow on the ground from a christmas eve morning snowstorm. while new yorkers enjoyed some winter weather fun. you see it right there. people on the west coast faced an unrelenting storm train. chad myers has our christmas day forecast. chad. merry christmas to you. and let's start with the nice weather. how about that? not the naughty. because listen, millions finally got their white christmas, right? >> finally. i mean, here's a picture out of staten island. now, the problem is, it did get to 36 after this snow. so some of it melted and now it's 27. so some of it refroze. be careful with your first steps or your first couple of miles out there today. yes, we did have a white christmas that is one inch or more still on the ground christmas morning. and although a lot of it did melt off the roadways, a lot of it

stuck to those grassy areas. so we'll take it. this is the area that had all the snow. i mean, obviously up north into into michigan, also into new york city. this morning, though, we are seeing some severe weather possible here into parts of southern louisiana. part of all the storm system, if you were had a bad night's sleep in houston, that's because there was lightning and thunder for most of the night, even toward college station yesterday. and the snow right now is going to be in the rockies pretty good. i mean, all in all, not too many people drive on christmas day. they go short distances like, you know, across town. but all in all, pretty good travel. we're not going to see great travel across seattle or even toward portland. that's where the next storm system you mentioned is, is another atmospheric river bringing significant rain and snow to the cascades, to the sierra. we're talking about the sierra, and they have had so much snow this year. if you just happen to book your christmas vacation in tahoe or reno or wherever with all that snow, you're going to get more. it's not done yet. there's still more snow on the way. also a little bit of snow, some new powder for colorado.

and that's the area here from the sierra all the way down, not yet to southern california, but we will see that precip in the pacific northwest. danny. >> all right, chad, you and i were heading to tahoe. get our skiing on. >> i know. right. >> i love it. all right. thanks, chad. appreciate it. we'll talk to you soon. all right. that's a look at your top stories on this christmas morning. now back to casey. >> 2024 nearing the end. what a year. what an election year. >> it is now clear that we've achieved the most incredible political thing. look, what happened. is this crazy? >> four years after he lost the 2020 election, after he attempted to overthrow the results of that election in ways that resulted in dozens of criminal charges after a violent mob stormed the capitol to try to prevent the certification of his defeat, and after being injured in one of two assassination attempts against him, donald trump

prevailed in the 2024 election, winning the electoral college, and for the first time, the popular vote. the former president made gains across the country in blue states, in red states, in rural areas, in cities. and in fact, my colleagues here at cnn wrote the day after the election, this, quote, trump made gains with nearly every demographic group compared with his 2020 loss. cnn's exit polls showed, and his apparent near mirroring of the 2016 map would indicate that he paid no political price for his lies about fraud in that election. his efforts to overturn it, or the criminal charges he has faced since then. and that is the crux of it. enough of the electorate decided that change was more important than any concerns over trump's behavior. and it's why, in part, this moment from harris was so damaging. >> would you have done something differently than president biden during the past four years? >> there is not a thing that comes to mind in terms of and

i've been a part of, of, of most of the decisions that have had impact, not a thing that comes to mind. >> that was according to cnn's exit polls, almost the exact opposite of what voters wanted to hear. almost three quarters of voters said they were either dissatisfied or angry with the way things were going in the united states. and as incumbents, president joe biden and vice president kamala harris were unable to change, as they might say, the vibes. trump, by contrast, was able to seize on the anger and dissatisfaction by promising major radical change. >> we're going to pay you back. we are going to do the best job. we're going to. we're going to turn it around. nothing will stop me from keeping my word to you, the people we will make america safe, strong, prosperous, powerful and free again. >> all right. our christmas day panel is here. alex thompson, cnn political analyst, national political reporter for axios. elliot williams, cnn legal analyst, former federal

prosecutor and star wars fan kate bedingfield, cnn political commentator, former biden white house communications director. and brad todd, cnn political commentator and republican strategist. welcome to all of you. thank you for being here. alex. i actually kind of want to start with you on this. as we look back at just an incredible campaign, much of which you covered as you were covering then candidate joe biden. and just, you know, i'm interested in your reflections on the arc of it, especially for the outgoing president and his decision to there were so many unbelievable things that happened in the course of this campaign. but really, his decision to drop out of the race, hand it to kamala harris, was such an unprecedented moment for all of us. >> and his decision to run in the first place at 80 years old, i think will also be one of the more consequential decisions of this election cycle. and i think actually when we look back, we'll probably think of this election was over in june and july. the combination of that debate performance and then the assassination attempt, which

you saw in the favorability ratings, trump sort of had his highest favorability of his entire political career after that moment. and then, you know, the kamala harris of it all, i think you can you obviously pointed out some mistakes that she made. you could say she should have gone joe rogan, all these little, little tactical things. but in the end, the kamala harris 107 day campaign was a hail mary pass. and i think they actually got closer than some democrats expected. she only lost across three states by 250,000 votes. now he still won the popular vote, but she had a chance to pull the inside straight. i think that's how we'll look back on this election. >> well, and kate bedingfield, i think the popular vote piece of it is one of the things that has led to a feeling that donald trump will enter office with a significant mandate, because it really kind of showed a a significant switch from 2016 where, yes, he won the electoral college, but he lost the popular vote. how do you think what message do you

think democrats took away from that piece of it? and what should they be taking into the future? >> yeah. look, i think there's no question that the political winds are at donald trump's back. i do think as we have gotten farther and farther from the election, i think democrats are absorbing it a little bit less. as of, you know, to use obama's words, a shellacking and a little bit more of a look at where voters are dissatisfied with the status quo and how democrats can can think about really tacking to their concerns, particularly on the economy. um, i think, you know, there this is not a great moment for the democratic party. they are in the political wilderness, but out of the wilderness can arise opportunity. and i do think there are a lot of hard conversations happening about what the direction should look like. and i think there will be, i hope, positive growth from that. when you have those hard conversations, when you take a look at what isn't working, you come to, you come to a new, a new direction. so, um, you know, i don't think that all hope is lost for the democrats. and i think there were people on november 6th, seventh and eighth who were

saying, all hope is lost for the democrats. i don't think that that's true. >> to your point about the popular vote. it was actually a relatively close election. um, now, to your point, democrats ought to be alarmed when they're losing working class black people in queens and bronx and places that ought to be democratic in manhattan, ought to be democratic strongholds. now, they still won, but lost tallies that the totals that they should have had. but donald trump won by i believe it's 1.5% in the popular vote by way of comparison, reagan won 84 by 18 points. that is a shellacking. that is a national mandate. and when it comes to the business of governing a country that is still very divided and still very close, regardless of what congress looks like, it will just be interesting. >> biden also won 4.5% in 2020, by the way, so i am all for democrats under reading this and convincing themselves, you know, that this was this was really not as bad as it was.

>> i mean, the state that swung the most in the state legislature, from democrat to republican, was vermont. vermont, like the least religious, least conservative state in the country, democrats lost up and down the ballot. and donald trump took the gains that he'd made in 2016 with the white working class and extended it to working class voters of color. that is a major, major change. we are in the middle of a realignment, the end of the fifth political party system, as political science professors call it, is here. this is a pretty historic time, and it's not. >> and to to back that up, the alignment is not, uh, rich or poor or left or right social issues. it's college versus not. it's what many would call quote unquote the elites versus everybody else. that is where american politics seems to be. >> well, and where you live. do you live around people who are more college educated than the rest of the country? it's not even really about your degree. it's about the kinds of people you choose to be around you. >> well, i was just going to say, this is the debate about

what democrats do next. do you under-read or do you overread, do you, you know, sort of overcorrect and, you know, there are some data points that democrats can point to. the fact is they still won senate races in wisconsin and michigan and nevada. but at the same time, no, you know, reagan did win by 18 points, but no republican, no presidential candidate has had the headwinds, many self-inflicted with you know, obviously, he had four different court cases going on. he obviously tried to overturn the last election, the amount of headwinds he was facing and was able to overcome would also be a, you know, suggest that maybe this is, you know, in some ways a more impressive victory. >> and i think the idea that democrats need to abandon the things that are core to their policy agenda, things like focusing on infrastructure, focusing on health care protections. now, absolutely, there needs to be a re a reimagining of the way democrats communicate, the way they talk. although to alex's point, obviously, a number of senate democrats outperformed vice president harris. um, so when i say not all is lost, i think, you know, what is important is for democrats to not lose sight of

the fact that the backbone of the things that they have historically fought for do speak to those working class voters. what they've got to figure out is how to better explain that. >> all right. coming up next here on cnn this morning, trump's second inauguration, now just a few weeks away. doris kearns goodwin joins us with more on what that might look like. plus, the image that helps define the 2024 election. we'll talk to michael smerconish about his take. and like the gifs that keep on giving your favorite holiday movies a lamp. >> oh, wow. can't fool myself. >> it was the most exciting time in the world. >> his life had extremely joyful moments and some really difficult moments. >> you only come across an artist like luther vandross once in a lifetime. luther. >> never too much new year's day on. i just need. >> make exceptional the

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where we're going? >> first of all, happy holidays and thank you so much. i love being your guest on fridays. so thank you for welcoming me so often onto your program. i do have an image. >> thank you. >> yeah. thank you. and i dressed holiday ish. my turtleneck look, that's holiday ish. as far as i go. >> i was trying to go ahead. tell us. >> so i do have an image in my head, and it's not the one you might be thinking of. casey, let me approach it this way. you know what it's like to grow up in the philly burbs, and you go to the jersey shore for hopefully a week of vacation. or, as we put it, down the shore, and each one of those jersey shore towns has a distinct personality. wildwood, new jersey is a working class shore town. when donald trump went to wildwood, new jersey, last spring and drew 80 to 100,000 people in a boardwalk appearance. and there's this

image of trump, and he's in front of a ferris wheel, and he's walking out on stage, and it's a little carnival barker ish, because that's wildwoods boardwalk. but that was stunning to me because here was a billionaire attracting tens of thousands. we always argue about how many people were there. there were a hell of a lot of people there that day. and trump comes out and he tells the story about how frank sinatra said, you never eat before you perform. but i just i just ate an enormous hot dog. and the crowd roared in its approval, and i thought to myself that he could attract so many people in a state he's never going to win, no matter what he says. he's not competitive in new jersey, but to go to wildwood, new jersey and put on a show and attract the number of people that he did, that struck a chord with me. that was a moment where i said, this populist appeal by a republican is really something to behold, especially after he's been twice impeached and four times indicted. and the conviction

and so forth. that was a moment. that was a moment where i said, you just can't count him out. >> well, you know, michael, it's so interesting that you mention this because while yes, he didn't have a chance of winning new jersey, i was on the air overnight on cnn, on election, election day into wednesday morning through to 9:00. it took us at cnn until about four in the morning to call the state of new jersey. i mean, that would have been normally a call that would have been made right at the close. i mean, it's interesting that you pointed that you felt that at the time, but some of what you saw there was borne out by what happened. >> yeah, i think that's true. and and maybe, you know, the fact that he was able to throw the harris campaign off guard and make them compete, make them defend. that's a better way of describing it. make them defend in places that should have been in the bag was was also very telling. i mean, i never ruled out that he could

win the election. i did not see coming that he could win the popular vote. >> yeah. agreed. that was something that, you know, stood out, stood out to me as well. and michael, i do want to ask you because i will say, i think the one image that stands out in my mind from the campaign was the image of what happened in butler, pennsylvania. this was where trump's putting his fist in the air. he's yelling, fight! this is right. after that would be assassin's bullet hit him in the ear. you can see the blood on his face. and obviously a very difficult moment for the country to be facing political violence, but also really an example of how donald trump reacts to the camera and steps onto the stage that even in a moment where there is violence directed toward him, his

instinct was to do this was to interact with the crowd. what does that say about him and about why he won the election? >> can i just say that as you're walking us through this recollection, it for me, it was one of those i know exactly where i was and what i was doing. i was at the breakfast counter in my kitchen at home, and i was watching that rally in real time. and there was one other person in the house. it was our youngest son, and i remember i saw what was happening and immediately appreciated. this is an assassination attempt and shouted up the stairs and said, you've, you've got to come watch this. and the way in which, to your point, trump controlled the moment and rose up and you know, and wanted to put his fist in the air and so forth, and had the the presence of mind, who knows how any of us would react in such a terrifying encounter. i don't think i'd have the presence of mind to take control of it and make sure that the image that i'm projecting from it is one

of strength. but that was a seminal moment. >> all right. michael smerconish, i always enjoy our friday conversations. i'm so grateful you take time out of your very busy day to be with us every friday. and of course, viewers can tune in this weekend. smerconish saturdays at 9 a.m. eastern right here on cnn. all right. ahead on cnn this morning, donald trump will become just the second president in u.s. history to be inaugurated for nonconsecutive terms in the white house. doris kearns goodwin joins us next. and what do most people do with holiday gifts? they don't want? the answer could surprise you. on new year's eve, live with anderson and andy. >> live coverage starts at eight on cnn. >> no more gross cough sirup. we all want you to feel better.

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mike, you boost your home's iq. >> i'm danny freeman in new york. merry christmas. our breaking news this morning. a christmas day plane crash with at least 29 survivors. but dozens are feared dead. we want to warn you that some of the video you're about to see may be disturbing. now, this plane went down near aktau, kazakhstan, after a reported bird strike. rescuers were there in moments, putting out flames and pulling survivors from the wreckage. cnn's nadia bashir joins me now from london. nadia, what more do we know about this crash? >> well, danny, authorities are still investigating the cause behind the crash. what may have led to the pilot attempting to land the plane in an emergency landing. at this stage, according to authorities, the preliminary information that they have received suggests that the pilot may have attempted that emergency landing as a result of a bird strike. now, as you mentioned, we have seen footage emerging from eyewitnesses from locals nearby who filmed the plane ahead of that crash

circling the airfield somewhat erratically before crashing and bursting into flames. and we have seen distressing video emerging showing some of those passengers on board emerging from the wreckage, some of them injured and bloodied. but as you mentioned, it is remarkable that authorities have confirmed that at least 29 people survived the crash. there were, of course, 67 people on board, 65 passengers, five crew members, 29 are confirmed to have survived at this stage. they have been taken to hospital for medical attention. but of course, there are dozens feared dead and that investigation is still ongoing. authorities are still working to confirm the status of those remaining passengers on board. and of course, this will be a deeply worrying and anxious time for family members and loved ones of those who were on board the plane. and we are tracking this, waiting to get more details. of course, not only around the cause, but also the status of the passengers on board. but at this stage, that is the information that we have received from authorities and we'll be tracking this to get more updates as they come in.

danny. >> so scary. but thankfully there were at least some survivors. nadia bashir, thank you very much. also this morning, russia has launched a massive christmas morning aerial attack on ukraine's energy sector, an attack ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy confirmed. condemned, i should say, as inhumane. at least one person was killed in the dnipro region after russia launched more than 70 missiles and 100 attack drones, ukraine's air defenses managed to shoot down many of them, but several still hit their energy sector targets, leading to blackouts across the country. you can see some of the damage here in kharkiv to residential buildings and civilian infrastructure, as well. all right. that's a look at your top stories on this christmas morning. now send it back to kc. >> the 2024 election was many things unprecedented, unpredictable and perhaps more than anything, unforgettable. >> in order to make america great and glorious again, i am tonight announcing my candidacy

for president of the united states. >> this is not a time to be complacent that's why i'm running for reelection. >> his approval numbers are historically low. >> the only rivaling only jimmy carter, who got slaughtered. >> of course, in that election, donald trump will officially become the first former president in the history of these united states to face a criminal trial. >> this is an assault on america. you would never abuse power as retribution against anybody except for day one, he says. you're not going to be a dictator, are you? i said, no, no, no, other than day one. >> the first biden-trump debate of 2024 is now set for june 27th, right here on cnn. >> when i've been able to do with the with the covid, excuse me, with dealing with everything we have to do with look if we finally beat medicare, we are

effed. >> that reaction from a democratic source, after watching president biden's performance in last night's cnn debate. it sounds like you're actually open to the idea that it might be the right decision for him to step aside. >> i think what i'm stressing is that has to be his decision. >> it's up to the president to decide if he is going to run. we're all encouraging him to to make that decision because time is running short. >> this is cnn breaking news. >> donald trump injured but safe. the 2024 election. fundamentally altered. america reeling from a horrific act of violence. >> i said let trump mania run wild. brother. >> congressman, do you think that kamala harris, at the top of the democratic ticket could beat former president trump in the fall? >> i think she would smoke him honestly, for the first time in

over half a century. >> a sitting president who can still run for reelection will not appear on the ballot. president joe biden, making the stunning announcement on sunday. kamala harris freedom, freedom. >> do we believe in the promise of america? and are we ready to fight for it? >> the next vice president of the united states, tim walz. >> you know it. you feel it. >> these guys are creepy. >> and yes, just weird as hell. that's what you see. it is therefore my honor to nominate ohio senator jd vance, the childless cat lady. >> would you like to comment on that? >> obviously it was a sarcastic comment. i've got nothing against cats in springfield. >> they're eating the dogs. the people that came in, this weird obsession with crowd sizes. >> we are not going back.

>> we are not going back. >> welcome to all of you. so grateful to have you here. are you okay? >> yeah. >> caffeine. caffeine, caffeine i don't i don't know where i am or what i'm doing, but i'm apparently here just a little concerned. can we put this shirt button first? first of all, i am making a statement. hang on, hang on. let me just let me get my bakari. all right, here we go. bakari. oh my god. >> god, no, no no, no, thank god, you can barely see that on camera. >> the trump campaign says shots were fired in the vicinity of the former president at his doral golf resort. >> he is safe. >> a few days ago, we had an incident. i have to say, secret service did a hell of a job. they really did. arnold palmer was all man. he took showers with the other pros. they came out of there. they said, oh, my god, i'm looking for a job. and i've always wanted to work at mcdonald's. how do you like my garbage truck? this truck is in honor of kamala and joe

biden. >> we have reached an historic moment in this election. john berman. >> that's right. casey, we can now project the winner of the presidential race. >> it is now official. cnn projects that donald trump has been elected president, defeating vice president kamala harris. >> while i concede this election, i do not concede the fight that fueled this campaign. >> i want to thank the american people for the extraordinary honor of being elected. your 47th president and your 45th president. >> wow. so we just as panelists back. that was a roller coaster that we all that we all lived. i'm alex thompson. let me just start with you kind of go around. i mean, which moment stood out to you the most about this campaign and why? >> um, i think the combination, you know, just watching that

debate moment again that we beat medicare one was just so painful. you know, at the moment we were only thinking about, like, the election consequences, the political consequences. but it was actually just sort of sad to to watch it. i mean, you were seeing just that he wasn't capable of articulating his thoughts anymore. and then just seeing, you know, the potential ways that there could have been political violence. there were clearly there was a real assassination attempt. but, you know, we sort of honestly, i feel like got lucky. um, you know, you imagine the number of close calls that we saw. those were a few things that stood out. >> yeah. well, and the assassination attempt in particular, i mean, you know, i was struck at the time, it felt like this potentially very, you know, deeply changing event, obviously, with biden dropping out subsequently, that the impact of that sort of, you know, it lasted through the convention and then kind of fell by the wayside. but we really did come very close, very close. >> and i think there was a moment there when people saw humanity in donald trump that they hadn't seen before, and they saw some characteristics that maybe they didn't know were there. i think it

fundamentally changed the way a lot of reluctant republicans viewed him. and in the end, consolidating that republican base was pretty important. i also look at the debate. you know, i remember being in atlanta and walking down to the filing center after the debate. i ran into chris lacivitas, who was the campaign manager for donald trump. and i said, well, i think i think that was good for him. and he said, too good, too good. and so he, he, he knew at that at that moment that joe biden was in deep trouble and that the race was about to change. >> all right. just ahead here on cnn this morning, harry enten is here. he's been making some lists, checking them twice. christmas movies and more. up next. hi, harry. santa scott. >> calvin. >> how can you close this up, peggy? >> because santa is watching this saturated fats. elle reeve. i just need make

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>> so there are so many difficult decisions we have to make for the holidays. for example, what are the best cookies, perhaps that you might bake? what is the best christmas movie to watch and what to do with the gifts that you receive that you don't really like that much? cnn senior data reporter harry enten is here to crunch all of the holiday numbers. harry, wonderful to see you. let's start with picking a christmas tree. do americans, on the whole prefer real or fake? i have to say i am an aggressive partisan on this subject. which is to say, it must be a real tree. it must be cut down. but i may i may be in the minority, i don't know. tell us. >> yeah, i was shocked by this one. sometimes i get shocked by numbers in politics, but sometimes in pop culture and holidays, i get even more shocked. >> i mean, look at this. have a christmas tree. the vast, the clear majority. the clear majority. look at this. 55% say yes, but it's artificial.

it's artificial. the girlfriend's family has always had an artificial tree. the mini tree in our house is artificial. just 22% say yes and real. >> and then there's the in the minority. >> you're really in the minority. although i guess you're tied with no tree at 22% as well. but it's artificial. people don't like going out there and buying that, throwing it out. it's just such a pain in the butt. and i know it's a pain in the butt, especially in new york city. so artificial is the one. you could trot it out year after year, and it just makes much less of a mess. >> it does make less of a mess. i will, i will say it is actually a pain to bring it in, but i'm very attached. all right. so gifts harry. apparently there's lots of people who, you know, get things that they they don't really appreciate. what do they do with them? >> yeah. i am not one of them. i love all of the gifts that the girlfriend gets for me. i want to be very, very clear on this. and i'm sure you love all of the gifts that you do as well. but i mean, the bottom line is this holiday gifts don't like get this. 49% say they keep them. oh my god. i

mean, i know we want to make the people around us happy, but we can be honest with each other, right? apparently not. you get 31% who say return. and i think that's the right answer. and then get this 16% say they regift it. they give it away to somebody else. oh yeah. here's your secondary gift. here you go. no no no no no return is right. but i guess about half of us feel like we have to keep everyone around us happy. >> is this a bad time to admit i have a regifting closet in my basement now. this is the right time. i collect all you know things that come in the house that i don't have an immediate use for. it's actually great for, you know, don't tell, don't tell my kids that sometimes i intercept extra gifts for them. and then i have great birthday presents anyway. all right, so next up, christmas movies. what are the favorites? yeah. >> what are the favorites here? i will say that my favorite is not in the top three. so number one it's a wonderful life 9% obviously that's a classic. >> love it. it's a classic. >> it's a classic right. how the grinch stole christmas i actually remember seeing that in movies that comes in at 7% in second. and then of course, a christmas story comes in at third, tied basically with how

the grinch stole christmas at 7%. i mean, as a kid, you couldn't avoid this, right? it was on pbs every freaking minute. i bet it's on pbs right at this exact moment. so, look, these are the top three. but my number one die hard. unfortunately, it is a christmas movie. it came in though at. >> just want to say that's the survey. i want to see what what percentage of americans think die hard is a christmas movie. um. all right, next one. harry, you've got cookies. america's favorite cookie. what is it? >> yeah. all right, so what is america's cookie when it comes to the holiday season? i mean, i don't understand this. i mean, you know, where's ginger on here? what is going on? what is going on? but but chocolate chip is not a cookie. >> harry, why did you put fudge on the list? it's not a fudge cook. >> i mean a fudge cookie. it's a fudge cookie. but, you know, you want to make it clear what's going on here. it's a fudge cookie. i want a visual to sort of represent, but it's a fudge cookie. you've had a fudge cookie before. >> two is. >> no, but you've never had a fudge cookie. >> there. fantastic.

>> so they combine two great desserts. fudge and a cookie. there you go. a fudge cookie. two is sugar. i like i like a good sugar cookie. three is the fudge cookie. i love chocolate, so a fudge cookie kind of brings it all around. chocolate chip. >> just eat fudge though. >> i don't know, because some because sometimes you got to make compromises in life. when you're in a relationship. casey. >> that's fair. fair enough. all right. and lastly, harry, this hanukkah actually starts tonight as well. pretty rare for christmas and hanukkah to line up like this now. yeah. >> if you've ever watched me on air, you might notice that i say shalom a lot. so this is rather important to me. it's chrismukkah time, baby. hanukkah first. first night on christmas. it only happens 4% of the time. 96% of the time since 1900. it doesn't. so this is a great melding of two american traditions right here christmas, hanukkah, big shopping season. so i like it 4% of the time. and one little last nugget to go to go out on it's bottom line. this there are in fact 16 different ways to spell hanukkah. so no matter what way you spell it, casey, you end up being correct.

>> this is why we love you, harry enten. merry christmas, happy hanukkah. thank you for that. you're a gem. see you in the new year. see you. all right. okay. our panel is back. you know, lots to chew on there, but let's go with your favorite christmas movie. brad, i think we have a clip from yours. let's watch it. good night daddy. >> good night sugar. don't say good night yet. >> wait until we're all in bed in the last light goes out. >> okay, brad, you're gonna have to explain this. this is is this. >> it's a patricia neal movie from the early 70s. it's called the homecoming. it's about an appalachian family during the depression. and i grew up in east tennessee and rural east tennessee in a very large rural family. and this rang true to me as a kid. and so i have continued to watch it. now i have to watch it alone. no one in my family will watch it with me. my kids think it's the weirdest thing ever, so i've got the award for the most boring christmas movie, but

it's mine. it is a deep cut. >> but you know, i love the explanation. all right, let's roll. cats, please. when i tell you to come, you better come. what? this one is self-explanatory. >> i mean, i just the moment in the end where the dad gives him the bb gun. it just. it is so sweet and kind, and i just love it. and like everyone, my family, we watched it every year, and i probably. >> is it bad to admit i've never seen it? you have never seen it? watch it. i've never seen you don't get it. >> when people say fred keeley, what do you think people are doing when they say that? >> i've never understood it. now i do thank you. all right, elliot, let's see it. >> i don't like soul food. they still got a soul. and it don't mean that you got no rhythm if you don't like. >> all right. i've never heard this one either, but that was pretty good. >> um, so that's emma dropping the mic. i'm dropping the sharpie. emmet otter's jug-band christmas is this sleeper hit that people who like emmet otter's jug-band christmas really like emmet otter's jug-band christmas. and it's sort of it's a muppets film.

it's jim henson. and the powerful thing about the movie is it's emmet and his mother make huge sacrifices for each other. no spoilers, i won't tell you. and it's all about the holiday season. and the songs are bangers like that. that song there, barbecue, it slaps all of them. >> yeah, i've seen it. i'll have to check it out. you trust me and alex here apparently shares this. it's a it's a real, like, sliced up little electorate there on christmas movies. but many people many people love this one watch, don't you like her? >> well, of course i like her. she's a peach oh, every time a bell rings, an angel gets its wings. >> alex. >> i mean, the very end. i'm a man of the people. so i pick number one. but, you know, every single time that at the very end, when his brother comes in and cheers to george, the richest man in town i only literally cried at two movies. and i do cry to that movie. >> it's i mean, it's worth crying over it now. so i'm going to take the anchors point of personal privilege and give you two favorite christmas movies.

one is from my childhood, white christmas. let's watch it. i mean, what is not to love about this movie? and of course, the bing crosby classic that came from it. but then i have to say, the modern sorry mom version of me loves this movie. that was not a huge hit in the very beginning, but this is nancy meyers the holiday review. >> anyway, i'm head over heels. you know. >> everybody, may i introduce? i mean, kate, it's a classic 100%. >> i'm with you. we we are we are right on the same page on this one. >> i made my husband watch it with me this year. he doesn't usually. usually i have to watch it by myself. >> do you like it? yeah, he likes it. >> i was skeptical, but i actually think it's pretty great. >> it's aged really well. kate winslet, jack black are amazing. jude law is really good. cameron diaz, of course, with some funny moments. anyway. >> straight ahead out of his league one day. >> what's that? you're going to be watching it by your cell phone. >> you're going to be like, i have done that a couple of years already. like, this is a jude law movie from the mid 2000. exactly. >> all right. straight ahead

here on cnn this morning. republicans in power. what donald trump's party could do with control of all three branches of government in the new year. plus out of this world ambition. elon musk among those shooting for the stars in 2025. >> andy, it has been one wild year. >> i know that whole new live stream was crazy. >> what you have been following actual news right? oh boy. >> new year's eve live with anderson and andy. live coverage starts at eight on cnn and streaming live on max. >> transform your website into an immersive 3-d experience with infinite reality, you can tap the power of the spatial and social web, unlock valuable data, and take your brand to the next level. it's time for better shopping. bolder entertainment, and bigger sports it's time to up

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